If the new 'Die Hard' sucks, why is everyone seeing it?

John McClane. Hudson Hawk. Butch Coolidge. John McClane. Korben Dallas. The Jackal. John McClane. Harry Stamper. Dr. Malcom Crowe. John McClane. Jimmy "The Tulip" Tudeski. Hartigan. John McClane. And, what the hell, one more John McClane for the road, maybe?

By any name, Bruce Willis is one of of the biggest movie stars on the planet. He's currently king of the box office thanks to the $25 million that A Good Day to Die Hard raked in over the weekend in spite of the bashing it took in every publication.

This month's A Good Day to Die Hard is the fifth Die Hard movie. The night before it opened, it had a 10 percent critical rating on Rotten Tomatoes and a 98 percent "Want to See" rating from audiences, and that disparity kind of says it all.

Basically, we're sheep and Hollywood is entirely aware that we'll all fork over $11.75 for the opportunity to hear Willis deliver another of McClane's infamous "Yippie-ki-yay" quotes. But, how did we get here? How did Willis choreograph such a time-tested, successful career in film even though he didn't get a major acting break until he was almost 30?

Alex Pappademas over at Grantland breaks down Willis' career arc(?) and explains why the guy from The Whole Ten Yards is still killin' it at the box office and will probably continue to blow up bad guys, even though he's pushing 60.

We'll see him soon in Red 2 — his 73rd film! — and the G.I. Joe sequel and Sin City: A Dame to Kill For, plus maybe the video-game adaptation Kane & Lynch. And even though A Good Day to Die Hard will probably end up being the worst-reviewed film in the series, Willis has been talking up a sixth installment anyway. [Grantland]